Folding car-step.



A. T. MILLS.

FOLDING GAB. STEP. APPLIOATION FILED JULY s1, 1911.

Patented Mar.1s,1913.

A. T. MILLS.

FOLDING GAR STEP. .121311101111011 FILED JULY31, 1911.

1,056,041. Patented Mar. 18, 1913.

. 4Z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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FOLDING CAR-STEP.

Specification of Letters Patent., Patented lVIar, 18, 1913.

Application filed July 31, 1911. Serial No. 641,409.

To all lwhom t may concern:

"Be 'it known that I, ART T.' MILLS,A a citizen of the United States, .residing at Warsaw, in the county of Benton and State ,of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Car-Steps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in folding car steps, and has for its object the provision of an improved form of foldin g car 4step particularly adapted for use on railway trains.

The further object of my invention is the provision of an improved form o`f folding car step which may be readily operated from the platform of the car and which may be readily attached to the ordinary permanent or stationary steps of the car and will Serve to fill in the space between the lowermost permanent stepof the car and the ground to facilitate the mounting of the steps Vby the passengers or the dismounting .from the -train and obviate the necessity for anum ber of porters each provided with a foot` stool as is now generally necessary to assist passengers desiring to board or'alight-from the railway "car, f

Other objects and advanta es of my improved folding car step will, readilyv apparent by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and it 'will be understood that I may make any modiiications in the specific structure shown and described within the scope of my claims without departingl from or exceeding the spirit of my invention.

Figure 1 represents a fr gmentary' end view of a car equipped with my improved folding step showing the step'in folded position. Fig. 2 represents a similar view to Fig. 1 but illustrating the step in its lowered position ready foruse. Fig. 3'4 represents a fragmentary side elevation of the ,car s howing the improved step in operative position, and Fi 4 represents a sectional view of the device for locking the shifting lever and thus the step in 1 adjusted position. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5,-5 of 4.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 esignates the body of a car having the platform 2 provided with the guard rail 3 and havin depending froin the sides the supporting rame work 4 for the customary permanent car step 5. The said step 5 as is customary with railroad car steps is so constructed as to lie entirely within the side-lines of the car and as to be spaced a considerable dist-ance above -Ithe ground and consequently said steps are difficult to mount unless the trainis stopped beside a raised` platform. To enable persons to readily mount the said steps when the train is stopped butat the same time to allow the steps to be ordinarily within the side lines of thecar and spaced above the ground and to prevent persons from jump-v ing' onto the steps when the train is in motion,I have provided my improved form of folding car steps. Pivotally`secured to the lowermost permanent car step 5 by the-hinges 6 is the uppermost riser 7 of the folding ste s 8 which `are sufficient in number to exten l lowermost step 5 almost to the plane of the. railsI to allow of ready mounting of the.

steps when the folding ste s are lowered. To control the .movement o the saidfolding steps and to raise 4or lower the same as desired, I secureto the lowermost ste the pivot 9 the' controllin .lever 1Q w ich 1s enga ed intermediate its engthoii the pivot has formed in one ,end-the slot 11 in which rides the lug or pin 12 secured to the steps 8, whereby by on rocking of the lever 10 on its'pivot 9 to raise the, slotted end thereof the folding steps 8 will be swung upward on their hinges 6 and will resta ainst the main step 5 of the car, as is c early from the shown iii Fig. 1 the riding of the pin 12 in the slot 11 acilitating said movement of the step by allowing of. relativemovement of the A step with respect to the 'end of the lever which, is necessary onaccount of the difference in the point of pivotance of thelever and of the step.l To regulate the said rocking 'of' the lever l0 and to enable one of the trainmen to operate the step without dismounting` from the oar 1, I pivotally secure to the opposite end of the lever 10 from that having the slot 11 the controlling rod y13 having a handle 14 at its upper end, said lever 13 havin its upper portion 15. provided with loc ing notches 16 formed therein, the upper portion 15 of said levei` passing between the arms of the yoke 17, said oke being secured to the block 18 of the rai ing 3 ofthe car. Said block 18 has a beveled portion 19 adapted to be engaged in one of the notches 16, of the rod 13 to lock the rod and thus the steps in adjusted position.

To cause the automatic locking of the said rod 13 in adjusted position, I slidably engage on the arms of the yoke 17 the plate 20 having extending centrally therefrom the pin 21 slidably engaged in a passage formed in the arch of the yoke while wonnd upon the said pin 21 is the helical spring 22 bearing at one end against the yoke and at the other end against the plate 20 Vto force said plate inwardly. Said plate 20 rests against the upper portion 15 of the rod 13 and serves to automatically press the said rod inwardly to force one of the notches against the beveled portion 19 of the block 18 and thus lock the controlling rod 13., When it is desired to shift the step it is merely necessary to press the handle 14 outward. to disengage the por# tion 15 from the block 18 and then to shove or draw on the rod 13 according to whetherthe step is to be raised or lowered.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of my improved car `step will be readily understood, and it will be seen that I have provided a thoroughly simple and eflicient form of folding car step which may be readily att-ached to any ordinary railway car and which will prove eiicient in that when lowered the folding step will facilitate mounting or alighting from the car, while when in raised position the riser 7 of the folding step 'their uppermost riser pivoted Ato the lowermost permanent step, a lever intermediately revent acciing of the lever serves to shift the lever tocontrol the position of the folding step. 2. The combination with the permanent steps of a car, of `supplemental steps pivoted thereto, a .lever intermediately pivoted to one of the permanent steps and having one end connected to the folding steps, whereby rocking of the lever serves to swing gthe folding steps to lie on top of the permanent steps or to swin the same downward into oper- Aative position.

3. The combination with a car having permanentsteps, of folding steps pivoted to the lowermost permanent step, a lever intermediately pivoted to said lowermost permanent step and having a slot formed in one end, a pin projecting from the folding steps and riding in the slot in the lever, an operating rod pivoted to the other end of the lever, and means for automatically locking the rod in adjusted position to prevent accidental movement of the steps.

4. ,The combination with the permanent steps of a car, of foldingsteps pivoted thereto, an operating lever pivoted to the lowermost permanent step, connections between the operating lever and the folding steps for swinging the latter on their pivots, a controlling rod pivoted to the operating lever,

a guide yoke' for said rod, a block carried b'v the car to which the guide yoke is secured, said block being provided with a beveled portion and a spring device for pressing the controlling rbd into locking engagement with the beveled portion of the block.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature,

v in the presence of two witnesses.

ART T. MILLS.

Witnesses: HARVEY H. RANK,

Jnssn D. KAYs. 

